System and method for pharmaceutical management and tracking

ABSTRACT

A product inventory management system including a cabinet configured to contain an inventory of product units having RFID tags and further configured to monitor the inventory by wirelessly detecting the RFID tags, and a server system configured to communicate over a network with the cabinet, the server system capable of managing the inventory of the cabinet. There is also a method for product inventory management, including receiving, in a server system and via a network, inventory data from a cabinet, the inventory data corresponding to an inventory of product units stored in the cabinet, and generating an order to have additional product units added to the cabinet according to the cabinet inventory.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S.Provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/741,631, filed Dec. 2, 2005,which is hereby incorporated by reference. This application alsoincludes some common text and/or figures as, but is otherwise unrelatedto, concurrently filed U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/607,799,which is hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure is directed, in general, to inventory managementand tracking systems, and in particular to pharmaceutical management andtracking.

BACKGROUND

Product tracking is of importance to any manufacturing, distribution, orsales enterprise. It can be particularly important in the pharmaceuticalarea, where many products must be carefully identified and tracked frommanufacture until administered to a patient. Typical known means oftracking pharmaceuticals involve manual record keeping and identifyingproducts according to written labels. Inventory management anddistribution also typically rely on a manual process of taking aphysical inventory of product and manually ordering refills orrestocking, while also eliminating product that is nearing or passed itsexpiry.

Another significant issue with pharmaceuticals is the very high cost ofmaintaining an inventory of expensive drugs. Some drugs can cost severalthousand dollars per dose, and be relatively rarely needed, but thesesame drugs, when needed, are needed immediately. Pre-purchasing andstocking such drugs is a great expense for pharmacies and hospitals.Further, because of the high cost of these drugs, managing and trackingeach product becomes essential.

There is, therefore, a need in the art for improved systems, methods,and apparatuses for inventory management and tracking systems, and inparticular for pharmaceutical management and tracking.

SUMMARY

One disclosed embodiment includes a product inventory management systemincluding a cabinet configured to contain an inventory of product unitshaving RFID tags and further configured to monitor the inventory bywirelessly detecting the RFID tags, and a server system configured tocommunicate over a network with the cabinet, the server system capableof managing the inventory of the cabinet.

Another disclosed embodiment includes a method for product inventorymanagement, including receiving, in a server system and via a network,inventory data from a cabinet, the inventory data corresponding to aninventory of product units stored in the cabinet, and generating anorder to have additional product units added to the cabinet according tothe cabinet inventory.

The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technicaladvantages of the present invention so that those skilled in the art maybetter understand the detailed description of the invention thatfollows. Additional features and advantages of the invention will bedescribed hereinafter that form the subject of the claims of theinvention. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that they mayreadily use the conception and the specific embodiment disclosed as abasis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out thesame purposes of the present invention. Those skilled in the art willalso realize that such equivalent constructions do not depart from thespirit and scope of the invention in its broadest form.

Before undertaking the DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION below, itmay be advantageous to set forth definitions of certain words or phrasesused throughout this patent document: the terms “include” and“comprise,” as well as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion withoutlimitation; the term “or” is inclusive, meaning and/or; the phrases“associated with” and “associated therewith,” as well as derivativesthereof, may mean to include, be included within, interconnect with,contain, be contained within, connect to or with, couple to or with, becommunicable with, cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose, be proximateto, be bound to or with, have, have a property of, or the like; and theterm “controller” means any device, system or part thereof that controlsat least one operation, whether such a device is implemented inhardware, firmware, software or some combination of at least two of thesame. It should be noted that the functionality associated with anyparticular controller may be centralized or distributed, whether locallyor remotely. Definitions for certain words and phrases are providedthroughout this patent document, and those of ordinary skill in the artwill understand that such definitions apply in many, if not most,instances to prior as well as future uses of such defined words andphrases.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present invention, and theadvantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptionstaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein likenumbers designate like objects, and in which:

FIG. 1 depicts a simplified block diagram of a cabinet in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a product unit as can be used in various embodimentsof the present invention;

FIG. 3 depicts a simplified diagram of an inventory management system inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 depicts a flowchart of a process in accordance with a disclosedembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1 through 4, discussed below, and the various embodiments used todescribe the principles of the present invention in this patent documentare by way of illustration only and should not be construed in any wayto limit the scope of the invention. Those skilled in the art willunderstand that the principles of the present invention may beimplemented in any suitably arranged device. The numerous innovativeteachings of the present application will be described with particularreference to the presently preferred embodiment.

Various embodiments include a system and method for managingpharmaceutical inventories, and in particular to managing consignedpharmaceuticals in third-party facilities, such as hospital pharmacies.Various embodiments can use a product-management cabinet capable oftracking product inventory, and corresponding products. Beforedescribing overall processes, it will be helpful to discuss variousaspects of cabinets and products that can be used in implementing theprocesses.

One aspect of the disclosed embodiments concerns an innovativepharmaceutical cabinet used to store pharmaceutical inventory. FIG. 1depicts a simplified block diagram of a cabinet that can be used toimplement the processes described herein.

The cabinet 100, in a preferred embodiment, includes a refrigeratedchassis 110, but can be held at any required temperature, includingcooled, frozen, ambient temperature, or even heated, using conventionalmeans. For refrigerated or ambient-temperature use, a conventionalrefrigerator unit can be modified as described herein to function as thecabinet. For ambient-temperature use, a non-refrigerated cabinet can beused, or the refrigeration unit can be turned off or disconnected.

The cabinet 100 also includes a reader 120 to wirelessly andautomatically detect and identify the contents of the cabinet.Preferably, this is a radio-frequency identification (RFID) reader,known to those of skill in the art. The cabinet 100 includes one or moreRFID antennas 130 connected to RFID reader 120 to scan the contents ofthe cabinet.

Preferably, the cabinet 100 also includes one or more optional sensordevices 140, such as a thermometer, a door-open sensor; a power-failuresensor and optional backup power supply; a GPS locating device; andother devices. In some embodiments, cabinet 100 also has an attachedRFID tag.

The cabinet also includes a data processing system 150 capable ofcommunicating with and controlling the RFID reader 120. The cabinet dataprocessing system 150 also includes communications software forcommunicating as described more fully below. The cabinet data processingsystem 150 is also preferably connected to communicate with and controlthe optional sensor devices 140 described above.

Cabinet data processing system 150 can be implemented using anyappropriate technology and components, capable of operating as describedherein, as known to those of skill in the art. The cabinet dataprocessing system 150 generally includes at least a processor orcontroller and an accessible memory for storing data as describedherein.

Cabinet data processing system 150 is also connected to communicate withother devices using network interface 160, which can be implementedusing wired communications such as Ethernet or a telephone modem, orwireless communications such as GSM or IEEE 802.11, or a cable modemsystem, or otherwise, or a combination of these. Preferably, networkinterface 160 communicates using Internet Protocol. Network interface160 allows the cabinet data processing system 150 to communicate withthe inventory management system, described below, and optionally withother cabinets 100 using mesh networking, direct cabling, or othertechnologies known to those of skill in the art. Communications betweencabinet data processing system 150 and the inventory management systemcan be implemented using any suitable data communications technology, ora combination of them. In embodiments where multiple cabinets 100communicate with each other, these can be configured to communicate withthe inventory management system as a single unit with a combinedinventory.

In use, the cabinet data processing system 150 will make periodicinventory scans, using the RFID reader 120, to uniquely identify eachproduct unit 200 (as shown in FIG. 2) stored in the cabinet. If a newidentifier is found during any scan, the cabinet data processing system150 notes the identifier and stores it to a current inventory list forthat cabinet. Similarly, if a specific identifier is no longer detectedduring a periodic scan, because the product has been removed or the RFIDtag has been destroyed, the cabinet data processing system 150 notes themissing identifier and removes it from the current inventory list forthe cabinet. The identifiers of such removed products are also stored ina “consumed product” list in the cabinet data processing system.

In this way, the cabinet is configured to monitor the inventory bywirelessly detecting the RFID tags. The cabinet performs a periodicwireless scan to determine the current product units in the inventory,and can determine that a product unit has been removed from theinventory when the RFID tag corresponding to the product unit is notdetected for a predetermined amount of time.

Of course, the references herein to the inventory list and consumedproduct list are not intended to specify a data structure for thisinformation, as this information can be stored in any number of formswithin the scope of the disclosed embodiments. “Lists” is simply usedfor convenient reference.

In alternate embodiments, cabinet 100 can also include a lockingmechanism, or one or more individual locking compartments, to controlaccess to the product. These locks can be any known technology,including keylocks, digital keypad locks, biometric locks, etc.Preferably, any locking device can also be opened remotely if thecabinet data processing system 150 receives such a command from theinventory management system.

Cabinet 100 can also include marketing or informational displays, eitheras a fixed display, or as a customizable electronic display. Similarly,cabinet 100 can include a display connected to cabinet data processingsystem 150 that is capable of displaying status or informationalmessages related to the status of the cabinet or the product inventory.

Preferably, cabinet 100 includes a power-failure detection device and abackup power supply. When a power failure is detected, cabinet 100 cansound an audible alarm, and can communicate with the inventorymanagement system to notify it of a problem.

Product: In a preferred embodiment, the product consists of packagedpharmaceuticals, but of course the systems and methods described hereincan be applied to other products. FIG. 2 shows a simple illustration ofa product unit 200 as can be used in various embodiments of the presentinvention. An important feature of the products, in a preferredembodiment, is that each product unit 200 includes an RFID tag 230affixed to the product or its packaging, where the RFID tag 230 includesidentifying information capable of being read by the RFID reader.

In a typical implementation, an individual product unit 200 includes theproduct 210 itself in an appropriate packaging 220, such as a box. Thepackaging includes the RFID tag 230, which seals the package. The RFIDtag has at least a unique identifier, such as a serial number, that canbe read by the RFID reader. Preferably, to open the package 220 to usethe product 210, the RFID tag 230 is destroyed, at which point it can nolonger be read by the RFID reader.

For ease of reference, the term “serial number” will be used herein torefer to the unique identifier, although those of skill in the art willrecognize that any other style of unique identifier can be used.

As will be understood by those of skill in the art, the product unit 200represents a generic product. There can be one or more actual products210 identified as a product unit 200, and preferably packaged together.For example, in the pharmaceutical context, a single dose, pill, orpre-filled syringe can be a single product 210, but multiple ones ofthese can be packaged together as a single product unit 200, dependingon the requirements for using, dispensing, or billing for the product210.

Inventory management system: An inventory management system 300 is usedto control the inventory in multiple cabinets 100. FIG. 3 depicts asimplified diagram of an inventory management system 300, in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention, including server system310, warehouse system 320, management system 330, and multiple cabinets100, all communicating via network 340. Network 340 can be implementedusing any known networking technology, as a public or private network oras direct communications, and is preferably implemented using theInternet to communicate between each system. Network 340 can beimplemented using multiple technologies, and can be implemented usingmultiple separate networks.

Server system 310, warehouse system 320, management system 330, whiledepicted as single, individual systems in this simplified figure, caneach be implemented using one or more data processing systems, which canbe commonly located but are not necessarily so. For example, as known tothose of skill in the art, different functions of server system 310 maybe more efficiently performed using separate data processing systems,each performing specific tasks but connected to communicate with eachother in such a way as to together perform the functions describedherein for the server system 310 as a whole. Similarly, one or more ofserver system 310, warehouse system 320, and management system 330 couldbe implemented as an integrated system as opposed to distinct andseparate systems.

Server system 310 performs overall inventory management functions formultiple cabinets 100, as described in more detail below with regard tothe overall process. In general, server system 310 communicates withcabinets 100 to monitor the inventory of each cabinet 100 on a regularbasis. Server system 310 can also monitor other status information ofeach cabinet 100 according to sensor devices 140. Server system 310includes a database of the current inventory of each cabinet 100, theproduct inventory assigned to each cabinet 100, and other informationregarding the cabinets 100.

Server system 310 also tracks all product units 200 from time ofpurchase and receiving into a warehouse, to shipment placement in acabinet 100, to storage in cabinet 100, to removal from cabinet 100.Server system 310 will periodically receive communications from eachcabinet 100 including the current inventory list, the consumed productlist, and other information. These communications can be initiated byserver system 310, by polling each of the cabinets 100, or can beinitiated by the cabinets 100.

Server system 310 preferably includes a web server interface to allowmanagement using a standard web browser interface. Preferably, at leastsome data sent and received by server system 310 is in XML format.Server system 310 maintains at least one database for product inventorydata; in a preferred embodiment, this database is an SQL database.

Server system 310 can also generate billing and invoice data accordingto the reports from cabinets 100 of product units 200 that are delivered(added to the current inventory list) or consumed (added to the consumedinventory list).

In various embodiments, the server system 310 is capable of creating anorder to have additional product units added to the cabinet according tothe cabinet inventory. In some cases, the product units in the cabinetinventory are consignment product units, and the server system 310creates an invoice when the product units are removed from theinventory. The server system 310 is further capable, in someembodiments, of receiving cabinet status data from the cabinet, andsending cabinet control instructions to the cabinet. The server system310 is further capable, in some embodiments, of analyzing productconsumption data according to inventory data received from the cabinet,as described below.

Warehouse system 320 is connected to communicate with server system 310.Warehouse system 320 is configured to receive inventory managementorders from server system 310, to have inventory shipped or deliveredfor placement in a cabinet 100. Warehouse system 320 is also preferablycapable of reading the RFID tags of the product units 200 to identifyexactly which product units are being shipped to a given destination. Inalternate embodiments, warehouse system 320 is also configured toproduce RFID tags for labeling product units 200.

Management system 330 is preferably a data processing system configuredto connect with server system 310 to allow a user to manage thefunctions of server system 310 and the processes it controls. Managementsystem 330 can preferably be implemented using a common data processingsystem including a standard internet browser, connected to allow theuser to connect to a web server interface on server system 310.

FIG. 4 depicts a flowchart of a process in accordance with a disclosedembodiment. Various embodiments include an inventory management processthat provides monitoring, tracking, and billing functions for productunits 200 in cabinets 100. In this way, each cabinet 100 can function asa “virtual warehouse” of product units 200 located at each productlocation, such as hospital pharmacies. This process is particularlyuseful when the product is not sold when shipped for placement in acabinet, but rather is held on consignment in the cabinet, andconsidered sold when removed from the cabinet or the product packaging.

In particular, the embodiments described herein can be used forhigh-dollar injectable pharmaceuticals, which a pharmacy may desire tohave readily available but not be willing or able to pre-purchase. Inthis case, the consignment product in the “virtual warehouse” cabinetfunctions to answer a significant and immediate need in the industry.

According to one process, product units 200 are first designated to betransferred from a warehouse to a cabinet 100 (step 405). Of course,this process is performed for any number of cabinets 100, but forsimplicity of description, the process will be described with referenceto only one cabinet 100.

The warehouse system 320 will record the serial numbers of each productunit shipped to the cabinet 100, along with an identifier of cabinet 100(step 410), which may be the RFID tag serial number of the cabinet 100,if it were so tagged. Warehouse system 320 can preferably record each ofthese serial numbers by performing an RFID scan of all product unitsbeing shipped to the cabinet 100.

When the product units are shipped (step 415), warehouse system 320 willnotify server system 310 that the product units 200 have shipped, thedestination cabinet 100 of the product units 200, and the serial numbersof the RFID tags of each of the shipped product units 200 (step 420),and any other inventory management data.

Server system 310, in turn, periodically communicates with cabinet 100.At some point after shipment, the shipped product units 200 will bedelivered to and placed within cabinet 100 at a customer site. Cabinet100 will detect the serial numbers of the RFID tags of each of theproduct units, and add those to the current inventory list (step 425).Cabinet 100 will communicate the current inventory list to server system310, which will update a status record for each corresponding serialnumber (step 430).

In implementations where there is a direct sale of the product, serversystem 310 can generate a billing invoice for the customer either whenthe product units 200 are shipped or when they are detected withincabinet 100, depending on the terms of the customer contract, or atanother appropriate time (step 440, see also below).

When the cabinet 100 no longer detects a given RFID serial number of aproduct unit 200, that serial number is added to the consumed productlist and eventually reported to server system 310, as described above(step 435). Typically, this will be when the product unit 100 is openedand the product is consumed, but it can also happen when the RFID tag isdestroyed when the packaging is opened, or if the product is otherwiseremoved, stolen, destroyed, etc.

In a preferred embodiment, a particular product unit is not moved to theconsumed product list immediately when it is not detected, but only whenit has not been detected for a significant period, such as 24, 48, or 72hours. This is to accommodate the event that the product unit 200 isremoved from cabinet 100 in anticipation of use, but is not actuallyconsumed, and so is returned to the cabinet 100 and is thereafterdetected by cabinet 100.

In an implementation where the product is in the cabinet on consignment,server system 310 can generate a billing invoice for the customer whenthe product units 200 are placed on the consumed product list (step440).

Server system 310 continues to monitor the inventory of cabinet 100 on aperiodic basis. As products are consumed, server system 310 updates itsinventory and performs any necessary billing procedures (step 445).

When server system 310 determines that the number of product units 200in cabinet 100 for a given product has fallen below a predeterminedthreshold, server system 310 will preferably send a purchase order (fordirect sales) or transfer purchase order (for consignment sales) towarehouse system 320 (step 450). Warehouse system 320 will process a newdelivery of the required product to the cabinet (e.g., returning to step405). That is, when the server system determines that a cabinet isrunning low on a specific product, it will preferably automaticallygenerate an order for the warehouse system to replenish the supply.

Also, in preferred embodiments and particularly in pharmaceuticalimplementations, the server system 310 will maintain pedigree and expiryinformation for each product unit 200, associated with the product unitserial number. In the event of a product recall or product that isnearing its expiration in a cabinet, the server system 310 can producean order for the product to be removed or replaced in the cabinet (step455), and adjust its inventory and billing records when the replacementis reported by the cabinet.

In alternate embodiments, the temperature and other parameters of thecabinet 100 can be directly modified by cabinet data processing system150. Further, server system 310 can send appropriate commands to cabinetdata processing system 150 to change the cabinet parameters. In thisway, for example, server system 310 can determine the optimal cabinetparameters according to the current cabinet inventory, and thereaftermodify the parameters accordingly (step 460).

Server system 310 can also track product units 200 indicated as shippedby warehouse system 320 but that are not timely detected by thedestination cabinet 100. When this occurs, server system 310 can send anappropriate notice to an operator, the customer, or other appropriateperson or system. By reference to the status information of the carriercontracted to deliver the product units, server system 310 can alsodetermine whether the product was delivered to the customer location butnever placed by the customer in the cabinet 100. According to theprovisions of a customer contract, server system 310 can optionallyautomatically bill the customer for such product units that are neverplaced in the destination cabinet.

According to other embodiments, server system 310 can also communicatewith physicians and other individuals using electronic mail, textmessaging to mobile telephones or PDAs, paging, or in other ways knownto those of skill in the art (step 465). These communications can bereal-time, such as text messaging or paging, or can be delayed. Inparticular embodiments, these messages can be used to provide updates ofproduct inventory to individuals regarding the particular cabinets intheir facility, to advise of new stock or to warn of low productinventory. These messages can be combined with advertisement orpromotional material, for example to promote the use and benefits ofparticular products stocked or available to be stocked in the cabinet.

In other embodiments, product inventory data can be analyzed and/oraggregated by server system 310 in order to determine and predictproduct usage trends. For example, in the pharmaceutical context, serversystem 310 can determine the general rate at which any particularproduct is used in a particular cabinet, and thereby determine anoptimum inventory level for that product to meet ongoing and emergentneeds. Further, server system 310 can use aggregate data to determinehow much product should be ordered and stocked in warehouses, and todetermine what drugs are most often used and in what contexts, amongother information.

The systems and techniques described herein, while particularlydescribed in a pharmaceutical context, are of course not limited topharmaceuticals. Those of skill in the art will recognize that thesetechniques can be applied to any number of other products, withparticular utility in managing inventory of consumable products such asdrugs, foods, drinks, liquors, etc.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that, for simplicity andclarity, the full structure and operation of all systems suitable foruse with the present invention is not being depicted or describedherein. Instead, only so much of a data processing system as is uniqueto the present invention or necessary for an understanding of thepresent invention is depicted and described. The remainder of theconstruction and operation of these systems may conform to any of thevarious current implementations and practices known in the art.

It is important to note that while the present invention has beendescribed in the context of a fully functional system, those skilled inthe art will appreciate that at least portions of the mechanism of thepresent invention are capable of being distributed in the form of ainstructions contained within a machine usable medium in any of avariety of forms, and that the present invention applies equallyregardless of the particular type of instruction or signal bearingmedium utilized to actually carry out the distribution. Examples ofmachine usable mediums include: nonvolatile, hard-coded type mediumssuch as read only memories (ROMs) or erasable, electrically programmableread only memories (EEPROMs), user-recordable type mediums such asfloppy disks, hard disk drives and compact disk read only memories(CD-ROMs) or digital versatile disks (DVDs), and transmission typemediums such as digital and analog communication links.

Although an exemplary embodiment of the present invention has beendescribed in detail, those skilled in the art will understand thatvarious changes, substitutions, variations, and improvements of theinvention disclosed herein may be made without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention in its broadest form.

None of the description in the present application should be read asimplying that any particular element, step, or function is an essentialelement which must be included in the claim scope: THE SCOPE OF PATENTEDSUBJECT MATTER IS DEFINED ONLY BY THE ALLOWED CLAIMS. Moreover, none ofthese claims are intended to invoke paragraph six of 35 USC §112 unlessthe exact words “means for” are followed by a participle.

1. A product inventory management system, comprising: a cabinetconfigured to contain an inventory of product units having RFID tags,the cabinet further configured to monitor the inventory by wirelesslydetecting the RFID tags; and a server system configured to communicateover a network with the cabinet, the server system operable to managethe inventory of the cabinet, the server system operable to create anorder to have additional product units added to the cabinet according tothe cabinet inventory, wherein the product units in the cabinetinventory are consignment product units, and the server system createsan invoice when the product units are removed from the inventory.
 2. Aproduct inventory management network, comprising: a first cabinet and asecond cabinet, wherein each cabinet is configured to contain aninventory of product units having RFID tags, each cabinet furtherconfigured to monitor the inventory by wirelessly detecting the RFIDtags; and a server system configured to communicate over a network withthe first cabinet and the second cabinet, the server system operable tomanage the inventory of at least one of the first cabinet and secondcabinet, the server system operable to create an order to haveadditional product units added to the at least one cabinet according tothe cabinet inventor, wherein the product units in the cabinet inventoryof at least one of the first cabinet and the second cabinet areconsignment product units, and the server system creates an invoice whenthe product units are removed from the inventory.